Our 3-day pass has now expired but Ted would lke to return to his favourite spot at Bayon. He hires a tuktuk to take him out there at 8:30 Friday morning and will buy a one-day pass for $20. I take a leisurely crack at the day, and discover the people I meet over breakfast - and who are in the room at the end of our hall - are from Kelowna!
Our hotel is suddenly full of students, and maybe Peace Corps volunteers. Michelle Obama is coming to town today to talk about Girls Education and to see Siem Reap. I'm glad we won't be fighting the CIA tomorrow to get to the site if that's when she plans to visit!! Hahaha
I go off exploring into town on my own, a nice walk along the river, get in a bit of retail therapy, buying things for ridiculous prices. Textiles is a big export here so T shirts are $2 and $3, white cotton shirts $3 or $4. I am still in the market for a white silk shirt...it's hard to bargain much.
The food market is something else - a few more photos of chickens cut in half showing you they still have all their guts in there - they eat everything here. Fish jumping about, lovely fresh fruit and veg, and lots of cooking going on. I stop at a nice cafe down a sideroad for passionfruit drink, and wander back in time for my (free) massage that came for both of us with our booking here at the hotel.
Ted was due back at 3pm. By 5pm I am hoping he has not fallen off a temple, but he rolls back in, grinning like a 'bilt haddie' (boiled haddock for the non-Scots). He has not only returned to his favourite spot at Bayon, but also talked his tuktuk driver to take him out to Banteay Srei that he also loved. On the way back he stopped at Angkor Wat to get the definitive photo of the temple across the lily pond in afternoon light. Oh joy! Good thing he took my big camera today. One happy tuktuk driver today...alsohe student who sold him the book on Angkor for about 3 times the price. We are doing our bit for the economy, but everyone is trying to seel you something.
The tuktuks are not just motor driven carriages (of which there are lot) but they are carriages pulled by a motorbike, bigger, less unfortable. There are no txies in these cities, just private hired cars and drivers, or tuktuks on the street, and indeed a fair way out of town.
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